Building construction is an inherently dangerous activity. Heavy materials, large equipment, and heights all create added risk. This is particularly true for the roofing industry. When installing roofing, it is not uncommon to have many workers on the roof level, usually at dangerous heights, interacting with dangerous tools, machinery, and other components. The more workers on the roof, the higher the odds of an accident. In an effort to reduce these risks, safety measures have been implemented for those workers on the roof. Such measures include safety harnesses, but while the risk is lowered, accidents still occur. Further, such safety measures slow the process of roof installation, as each construction worker on the roof must ensure that the appropriate safety measures are completed.
When finishing a roof, the roof panels and portions must be secured to the building structure, which often occurs through welding. However, when a roof is almost completed, it becomes more difficult for workers to access locations where the roof will be joined to the building structure, usually at joints of building joists. This process leads to more risk for workers and generally takes longer because of the limited space available to the workers. Further, it is difficult for workers to move all of the equipment safely along the roof as they proceed from joint to joint, and are at risk as they must descend under the roof to weld-stitch the joints of the joists. In the alternative, if the worker is not lowered to perform the weld, the worker may be hoisted to perform the welding. However, this necessarily puts the worker at great heights, where there is significant risk of accident.
Therefore, there remains a need for a system that allows construction workers to move from joint to joint in a fast, efficient, and safe manner, and that further allows a worker to safely descend and perform welding tasks. The present invention seeks to solve these and other problems.